Business Name

likelyfran

Hi,

Wasn't sure which thread to put this in, plumped for here - 'small biz'.

I am hoping to open an Ebay Business Seller Account/start a small business, ie. the business will be selling on Ebay.

My question is;

If I register my business, via the pertinent part of the gov.uk website, will that provide protection for my chosen business name? Ie. will no-one else in the UK then be able to use my chosen original business name for their own business/label?

Thanks in advance for any advice regarding this.

imoneyop

No (unless you are setting up as a Limited company).

You will be "likelyfran trading as XYZ", but there is nothing to stop me setting up as "imoneyop trading as XYZ" and operating any business I want (including an identical one to you).

paddyrg

Although you could always press legal action for 'passing off', it'll cost money.

earthstorm

even if you set up XYZ Limited this does not stop me setting up "imoneyop trading as XYZ", but it gives you more power to get me to stop using XYZ. the only real way to stop your business name from being used is to trademark it, but this is expensive.

likelyfran

Ok, thanks.

I really am clueless about all this stuff.

I'm still confused - I'm likelyfran but my business wouldn't be called 'likelyfran trading as bananasformonkeys', it'd just be 'bananasformonkeys'.

So if I chose that name (heehee) and registered it, anyone can start a business, check the gov. site, see that it's being used and then proceed to use that exact name, because it's so great, for their business too? Really?

I thought that part of setting up a small business was to check first that no-one else was using the name - what's the point then if anyone can just use any name anyway, even if someone else has used it first?

earthstorm

likelyfran wrote: »

Ok, thanks.

I really am clueless about all this stuff.

I'm still confused - I'm likelyfran but my business wouldn't be called 'likelyfran trading as bananasformonkeys', it'd just be 'bananasformonkeys'.

No if you do not set up a limited company then officially for HMRC and business bank account purposes the business name will be

yourname T/A bananasformonkeysas you are the business. It may be worth making an appointment with an accountant ( they usually give 1st consultation free) as they can go through all the options

Annisele

I think you're getting a bit confused between sole traders and limited companies. Gov.uk has a very brief rundown on the difference here.

If you were to set up !!!!!!!sformonkeys Ltd", then your business name would indeed be !!!!!!!sformonkeys". If you choose to go the sole trader route, then as earthstorm says your business name would be "likelyfran trading as Bananasformoneys".

But you can't just use any name. If you start up a grocery store and choose the business name "Tesco", you'll be getting letters from lawyers pretty sharpish. With the example you gave, there really is a business called !!!!!!! Monkey Ltd" - so if you were trading in the same field as them, they could well have a case against you (if Companies House even let you register the name in the first place).

General advice is to start as a sole trader, and "incorporate" (i.e. go limited) later if the business needs to.

Edit: Looks like other people are allowed to use a certain word for yellow fruit, but I'm not. Confused!

CKhalvashi

earthstorm wrote: »

No if you do not set up a limited company then officially for HMRC and business bank account purposes the business name will be

yourname T/A bananasformonkeysas you are the business. It may be worth making an appointment with an accountant ( they usually give 1st consultation free) as they can go through all the options

Spot on advice.

I was 'CKhalvashi t/a XYZ', then became 'XYZ Limited' (which was owned by me), and later was sold to 'XYZ Holdings Limited', of which 75% is owned by me (and the other 25% owned by an external shareholder.)

As mentioned, try to get the appointment to discuss this for free, and see where you go. If I sat down with you to explain, it's actually simple, but to try to do this online (where I can't scribble diagram) is not.

CK

Mistral001

likelyfran wrote: »

Ok, thanks.

I really am clueless about all this stuff.

I'm still confused - I'm likelyfran but my business wouldn't be called 'likelyfran trading as bananasformonkeys', it'd just be 'bananasformonkeys'.

So if I chose that name (heehee) and registered it, anyone can start a business, check the gov. site, see that it's being used and then proceed to use that exact name, because it's so great, for their business too? Really?

I thought that part of setting up a small business was to check first that no-one else was using the name - what's the point then if anyone can just use any name anyway, even if someone else has used it first?

It is a total urban myth that you have to register a business name with some sort of official body. As has been said you can call your business the exactly the same name as a another business as long as you do not try to pass yourself off as that business. Think about it. Is there only one Rose and Crown pub or Happy Fryer chip shop or A1 Taxis? If you form a Ltd Company, that limited company has to have a unique name but you can use a trading name which is not unique, but the passing off principle mentioned above still applies.

Percy1983

Mistral001 wrote: »

It is a total urban myth that you have to register a business name with some sort of official body. As has been said you can call your business the exactly the same name as a another business as long as you do not try to pass yourself off as that business. Think about it. Is there more than one Rose and Crown pub or Happy Fryer chip shop or A1 Taxis? If you form a Ltd Company that limited company has to have a unique name but you can use a trading name which is not unique as long as you do not pass yourself off as another business of that name

As said you can use whatever business name you wish and it could clash with competitors.

The main issue is if you clash with others or they clash with you at a later date then it can come down to legal action. As it is I know of a couple of business trading as the same name as me and they seem to have the same reasons for chosing said name, as it is we are all in different parts of the world so no problem. If a company popped up nearby using the same name I would question how they came up with said name if its for the same reasons as me I can't argue too much as long as they don't start copying logos etc but if they have no legit claim to the business name I would take it on legally.

This is all from a sole trader, I have no reason to go LTD just yet and haven't registered my business name anywhere apart from with HMRC as my trading name.

likelyfran

Annisele wrote: »

I think you're getting a bit confused between sole traders and limited companies. Gov.uk has a very brief rundown on the difference here.

If you were to set up !!!!!!!sformonkeys Ltd", then your business name would indeed be !!!!!!!sformonkeys". If you choose to go the sole trader route, then as earthstorm says your business name would be "likelyfran trading as Bananasformoneys".

But you can't just use any name. If you start up a grocery store and choose the business name "Tesco", you'll be getting letters from lawyers pretty sharpish. With the example you gave, there really is a business called !!!!!!! Monkey Ltd" - so if you were trading in the same field as them, they could well have a case against you (if Companies House even let you register the name in the first place).

General advice is to start as a sole trader, and "incorporate" (i.e. go limited) later if the business needs to.

Edit: Looks like other people are allowed to use a certain word for yellow fruit, but I'm not. Confused!

I have no idea what a limited company is.
I was a sole trader in the past - that seemed to be the least complicated business setup option.
The name I registered was simply the name, not 'me.as.name'.
Yes, why is bananas blocked??! :rotfl:
Ok, I accept that legally, it seems, I would be known as likelyfranasbananas..etc.
So, am I right in saying that sole traders do not have any name protection just from registering, they need to - for instance - pay for copyright (or whatever it's called, sorry have just logged in and tired tonight)?